The present invention relates to a new and distinct hybrid cultivar of Guzmania plant, botanically known as Guzmania sp., of the family Bromeliaceae, and hereinafter referred to as ‘ALTO’
Guzmania is native to tropical America. Guzmania is predominantly epiphytic with a few terrestrial species and is native to the tropics. For the most part, species vary in diameter from 7 or 8 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of glossy, smooth-edged leaves. Floral bracts of Guzmania frequently have brilliant colors and may last for many months. The range of colors for Guzmania is generally from yellow through orange but may also include flame red and red-purple. White or yellow, tubular, three-petalled flowers may also appear on a stem or within the leaf rosette but are usually short-lived. Guzmania may be advantageously grown as pot plants for greenhouse or home use. Typically, the plants are shaded from direct sunlight. During the spring to autumn period, the central vase-like part of the leaf rosette is normally filled with water.
The new Guzmania ‘ALTO’ originated from a cross made in a controlled breeding program by the inventors in 1996. The female or seed parent is the Guzmania lingulata minor identified by code 84336 (unpatented). The male or pollen parent is the Guzmania conifera identified by code 9678530 (unpatented). The new Guzmania ‘ALTO’ was discovered and selected by the inventors in 2000 as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Assendelft, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Guzmania cultivar was first performed by off-shoots beginning in 2001 and then by tissue culture beginning in 2003 in Assendelft, The Netherlands, with first flowering after asexual reproduction occurring in 2008 in Assendelft, The Netherlands. Asexual reproduction of the Guzmania ‘ALTO’ has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.
Methods for cultivation and crossing of Guzmania are well known. For a detailed discussion, reference is made to the following publications, which are incorporated herein by reference: Benzing, David H., THE BIOLOGY OF THE BROMELIADS, Mad River Press, Inc., Eureka (1980); Zimmer, Karl, BROMELIEN, Verlag, Paul Parey, Berlin (1986); and Rauh, Werner, BROMELIEN, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (1981).